This invention relates to a parking metering system for vehicles in which the metering device is maintained within the vehicle parked. The metering device generates metering data that is externally accessible by a meter control authority for regulating authorized parking, particularly in a controlled public parking place. The metering device is preferably mounted on the top of the dash board proximate the front windshield at the driver's side for visual inspection by a meter control officer. As an alternative, the status of the metering device may be externally accessed by the control officer electronically, using a specially designed receiver for receiving transmitted data in a signal from the metering device. In this embodiment, the receiver carried by the control officer becomes an element in the metering system.
In most urban or commercial areas, regulating and controlling the parking at available curb-side parking spots is essential for supporting local commercial activity. Where parking is unregulated, desirable curb-side parking is frequently occupied by local workers. Workers are early to the spot and leave their car for the duration of the day. Unregulated, the choicest parking spots are taken by the employees and others who work reasonably near the stores of their employment. To prevent downtown and local shopping areas from becoming stagnate, it was apparent that frequent turnover of parked vehicles was desirable to free prime parking locations for shoppers and others engaging in commercial activity of short duration.
As a result, the parking meter was devised to limit the time that a vehicle could occupy a premium parking spot close to commercial enterprises such as stores, professional buildings, service facilities and other locations where customers and clients are served or are partaking in enjoyable activities such as restaurants and cafes. The parking meter regulates parking by limiting the time a vehicle can continuously occupy a designated parking spot. As a result, coin accepting devices with mechanisms to measure time limits were devised, and the coin operated devices were mounted on steel poles and set deeply into the sidewalk. Parking limits were set in increments of one hour, thirty minutes, ten minutes, or in certain instances, multiple hours, depending on the desirability to the location of local commercial entities or recreation areas, such as beaches and parks.
To be effective, the time limits had to be enforced and control officers were therefore assigned to patrol parking areas and ticket those vehicles occupying spots in which the parking limit had expired. To prevent occupancy of a parking space by a single vehicle for multiple term limits, the parking control officer periodically would chalk the wheels of parked cars to insure that the occupant is simply not returning to his vehicle to feed the meter and take advantage of multiple time limits.
Although the parking meters sometimes became jammed during use, or the poles on which the parking meter was mounted occasionally became bent by accidental or deliberate contact with a vehicle, pole-mounted parking meters operated reasonably effectively. The curb-side parking spaces in many urban locations has become extremely desirable. As a consequence, the cost of parking for a given time has dramatically increased. Since the meters in such locations store a quantity of higher value coins, the parking meter has become a target for theft.
To prevent theft of coins from the parking meter, improvements have been made in the strength of the storage chamber and the lock. However, it then became the practice to steal the entire meter by severing the meter from the pole by use of a pipe cutter. This resulted in the added cost of replacing the meter as well as the loss of the revenue. Various strategies to prevent theft of the meter have included the use of a rotatable sleeve around the meter pole to prevent the use of a cutter, or oval poles. It then became a practice to extract the pole by force resulting in both the loss of the meter and pole, and damage to the curb-side.
In order to reduce the theft of money from parking meters and reduce the damage to the meter itself, experimental use of a meter that accepts a credit card has been proposed. However, to he effective, the meter cannot accept coins and must be dedicated to the exclusive use of credit cards. The added accounting required for billing by use of such a meter, adds expense. In addition, the cost of the meter and the cost of gathering the data for accounting must be borne by the parking authority.
In order to eliminate most of the problems of a parking meter system of conventional design, this invention has as its object, the use of a small, portable metering device that is installed inside the vehicle and is user operated. It is also an object of this invention to enable the meter to be inspected by a parking control officer externally from the vehicle compartment to determine that the correct time and rate is applied for the location. In order to properly credit the parking authority with the fee for parking, a means for accounting is provided. It is preferred that a debit system be utilized in which the metering device includes a card reader for debiting from the debit card, a selected amount for the time desired.
Alternately, a system of crediting can be provided in which a preset amount is purchased by the user and decremented until exhausted. For convenience, this amount can be credited to the metering device via a debit card or by a credit chip that is returned to the parking authority and exchanged for a new chip. As such system becomes popularized, certain locations can be provided for users of such a metering system and the curb-side pole meters eliminated. At some time, the metering device can be installed into the vehicle at the time of manufacture.
For the convenience of the user, the debit card may be part of a city-wide transportation system wherein a debit card or transportation card can be purchased from any rail or bus terminal and used as a parking meter card as well.